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拍品专文
Francis Newton Souza immigrated to New York in September 1967. New York in particular with its incessantly changing facade, perpetually burning lights, tawdry streets of Times Square and muscular skyscrapers was visually shocking to Souza. But ever the chameleon, Souza found comfort in his own abilities as a painter to adapt to his new location and relished in the fact that he could advance undetected through this exotic terrain.
While in New York, Souza was exposed to the totality of Abstract Expressionism and the work he produced during the period was a reaction against the Movement's fundamentals. Souza gorged himself on America and regurgitated it in paint. What emanated was an array of paintings which, when examined together, illustrate the complex workings of an artist suddenly liberated by the novelty of anonymity and defiantly announcing: this is my vision of what I see before me and this is where art is. This is Souza's New York.
In Blue Landscape bold brushwork with deep and rich colors, though sparingly used, dissect and fracture the foreground and background, disregarding the laws of perspective until the entire composition is disoriented. The background with its metallic shimmer emulates the glowing night sky, skillfully rendered with spray paint. This new medium which Souza began to explore in the late 1960s would have required Souza to adjust his painting techniques from the compulsive and deliberate strokes emanating from his brush in favor of a less controlled point-and-shoot technique. Although requiring a systematic mist to ensure an even application of paint, spray paint also possessed the possibility of surprise. There is a moment between the time that the vaporized paint particles are released from the nozzle of the aerosol can and when they settle on the painting's surface that the artist's control of the material is suspended, subject not to the will of the artist but to the laws of gravity and propulsion. This concession, although only a millisecond in length, never produced an unexpected result, yet should still be recognized as an important juncture for an artist as meditative as Souza. The interplay between Souza and the "moment suspended" confirms that his mastery of technique allowed him to engage in the action of automatism, a notion at the very core of the Abstract Expressionist Movement, without ever actually relinquishing control of his composition.
While in New York, Souza was exposed to the totality of Abstract Expressionism and the work he produced during the period was a reaction against the Movement's fundamentals. Souza gorged himself on America and regurgitated it in paint. What emanated was an array of paintings which, when examined together, illustrate the complex workings of an artist suddenly liberated by the novelty of anonymity and defiantly announcing: this is my vision of what I see before me and this is where art is. This is Souza's New York.
In Blue Landscape bold brushwork with deep and rich colors, though sparingly used, dissect and fracture the foreground and background, disregarding the laws of perspective until the entire composition is disoriented. The background with its metallic shimmer emulates the glowing night sky, skillfully rendered with spray paint. This new medium which Souza began to explore in the late 1960s would have required Souza to adjust his painting techniques from the compulsive and deliberate strokes emanating from his brush in favor of a less controlled point-and-shoot technique. Although requiring a systematic mist to ensure an even application of paint, spray paint also possessed the possibility of surprise. There is a moment between the time that the vaporized paint particles are released from the nozzle of the aerosol can and when they settle on the painting's surface that the artist's control of the material is suspended, subject not to the will of the artist but to the laws of gravity and propulsion. This concession, although only a millisecond in length, never produced an unexpected result, yet should still be recognized as an important juncture for an artist as meditative as Souza. The interplay between Souza and the "moment suspended" confirms that his mastery of technique allowed him to engage in the action of automatism, a notion at the very core of the Abstract Expressionist Movement, without ever actually relinquishing control of his composition.